Sabina Girotto talks about “Bioethics and Covid-19”

I am grateful to School of Bioethics that through the Master in Global Bioethics gave me the opportunity to open my mind to the world, and to the most important challenges we are facing.

My name is Sabina Girotto and I am an Italian student in the Master in Global Bioethics online, Universidad Anáhuac México. From 23 April to 28 May 2021, the Higher Institutes of Religious Sciences “Giovanni Paolo I” (Treviso and Belluno, Italy) and “A. Onisto” (Vicenza, Italy)” will promote a special course named “Bioethics and Covid-19” in order to analyze challenges posed to humanity by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, some scholars in the field of theology, ethics and bioethics, will give a broad insight on the pandemic crisis, connecting it to issues like suffering in the Bible, common good, vulnerability, anthropological limits, medical ethics, global bioethics, and biotechnology. The goal is linking science and faith, acknowledging that “in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light” (GS 22). Since the course director knows that I am studying global bioethics, I was asked to give a lesson. Therefore, I am glad to have the opportunity to share my knowledge, making other people know the perspective of global bioethics, and its analytic potential. Indeed, pandemic has clearly displayed the need to change the approach to bioethical and health problems, emphasizing the deep connection among individuals each other, and between individuals and the environment, especially in our globalized world. The Covid-19 pandemic displayed limits of global governance too, being some international institution like WHO unable to face threats to public health produced by the virus and being governments unable to coordinate in order to pursue the good of global community. Thus, only a new set of principles rooted in the global perspective, overcoming the concept of personal autonomy and the approach of mainstream bioethics, introducing the principle of solidarity, acknowledging the common vulnerability and brotherhood, will provide a solution to the Covid-19 pandemic disaster.

I am grateful to School of Bioethics of Universidad Anáhuac México that through the Master in Global Bioethics gave me the opportunity to open my mind to the world, and to the most important challenges we are facing.